The Betting and Gaming Council has urged major technology platforms to remove illegal gambling advertising targeting consumers in Britain. It cited analysis that illegal operators account for almost half of gambling advertising spend and forecasts that black-market stakes could reach £33bn by 2028.
Platforms’ response could affect illegal operators’ access to British consumers, including people who have self-excluded.
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Reportedly, Researchers have called for Britain to prohibit all gambling advertising. They want the proposed prohibition on sponsorship by unlicensed gambling businesses extended across every advertising channel.
The Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP) consortium has called on the British government to extend proposed restrictions on sports sponsorship by unlicensed gambling businesses to licensed operators and to all gambling advertising channels. The group made the call in its response to a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) consultation on prohibiting sponsorship by unlicensed gambling firms, which closed on 9 September. The government has not announced its conclusions, according to the source.
The Gambling Commission published estimates of engagement with illegal gambling websites in Great Britain on 5 November 2026, drawing on its Gambling Survey for Great Britain. It reported that 0.6% of respondents had used such sites in the previous four weeks; among people who had gambled online in the past year, the figure was 2.5%. An updated dashboard will track engagement and the impact of disruption work.
The Gambling Commission released fresh estimates on 5 November about how far consumers engage with illegal gambling websites. The figures are drawn from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, and an updated Illegal Gambling Data Dashboard accompanied them. The dashboard is meant to follow engagement trends and the effect of disruption work.
The UK Gambling Commission will focus its efforts on preventing unauthorised operators from establishing a significant presence in Great Britain, executive director Sue Young said at an event in Gibraltar. The government has allocated an additional £26 million over three years for the work, including £7 million available this year. Young said the commission targets major operators through payment disruption, site access restrictions and cooperation with partners.
The Betting and Gaming Council opposed calls for a complete UK gambling advertising ban. The trade body argued that prohibiting advertising would not stop gambling.
The Betting and Gaming Council has rejected proposals for a total prohibition on gambling advertising in the UK, contending that a ban would fail to eliminate betting. This stance was reported on 15 September 2026. It followed a push by the Local Health and Global Profits consortium, which asked the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to widen curbs past unlicensed sport sponsorships so that they also cover licensed operators.
The Betting and Gaming Council estimated that illegal platforms took more than £8m in bets on the Betfred St Leger Festival. The festival marked the race’s 250th anniversary.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) estimated that more than £8m was bet with unauthorised operators during the Betfred St Leger Festival, according to figures the association issued. The BGC put bets on the St Leger race itself at about £2m. The festival marked the 250th anniversary of the race, which was first run at Doncaster in 1776.